Hellobee

If you’re anything like me, finding out your having multiples throws a serious wrench into prepping for your twins (or triplets, or more) homecomings. There’s a lot of twin-specific gear out there, but it can be hard to decide what’s necessary vs. cool-to-have vs. a complete waste of money. With no further ado, here’s my top five absolute must-haves for multiples.

1) A double stroller that can take two car seats.

I thought this was going to be one of the easier decisions to make. I have a slight stroller problem, and acquired several different strollers over the first year of Addie’s life. Although I loved my BOB, I most frequently used my City Mini. I loved the one handed fold, how small it was, and how comfortable Addie seemed to be in it. Unfortunately, the double city mini, along with the double BOB, is unable to take two infant car seats.

I spent a lot of time debating how necessary that feature was. I read a lot of reviews that suggested wearing one baby, and putting the other one in the stroller until they were both big enough to sit in regular seats. I also read about just putting the babies into the seats right away, as long as they could recline flat. In the end, however, I was gifted one of the few strollers that can accommodate two infant car seats. I ended up with the 2015 UppaBaby Vista, and there may be some days I love it more than my husband. (Kidding. Kind of)

I seriously underestimated how much of a hassle it is to get three young kids into the grocery store, or the doctor’s office, or basically anywhere at all. Being able to snap both boys right into the stroller saves time, keeps them both sleeping, and keeps me sane. I will shed real tears when I have to move them into their convertible seats.

2) Something to tandem-wear

I’m very fortunate to have a dear friend who is an expert baby-wearer. (I’m not entirely sure that’s a word, but we’re going with it.) When she found out I was expecting the boys, she started researching ways to tandem-wear the twins. When they were itty-bitty I would wear them together in a size 6 woven wrap. Then, once they got bigger, I graduated to two mei-tais, one on my front and one on the back.

The beauty of the mei-tai is that, unlike other carriers, the baby doesn’t need to be able to sit unassisted before he can be on the back. I use two Didymos mei-tais, one with wrap straps, and one with standard straps. I rent mine from the carrier lending closet on post, but they’re similar to this one. There are also twin-specific carriers, if that’s more your style. Check out tandem baby-wearing groups on Facebook, and watch tutorial videos on YouTube to get a feel for all the options out there. I’d also recommend searching out your local baby wearing group, and seeing if they have a lending closet. The carriers can get pricey, and it’s fantastic to try them out before buying.

3) A Twin Nursing Pillow

I held out on this purchase for a while, and I really regret it now. Yes, you can replicate the twin pillows using multiple different pillows/blankets, however, it can get unwieldy and time-consuming. I find that I’m willing to pay almost anything for a few extra minutes of sleep during middle of the night feedings.

These pillows are also awesome for tandem bottle feeding, or even just giving you a place to put your twins down next to each other. I love propping my boys in their Twin Z pillow, and reading/singing to them.

4) Two Bottle Warmers

This is another one I got inexplicably cheap about before the babies came home. I was adamant that we could just wait the extra two minutes to heat up another bottle. And, yes, we could, but refer back to the importance of shaving minutes off the middle-of-the-night feedings. I’m pretty sure time actually slowed down during the time it took to heat the second bottle, and it gave the boys PLENTY of time to get good and worked up, making it much harder to get them back to sleep.

5) All the onesies.

You probably think you have enough clothes. You’re looking at drawers full of tiny folded newborn and 0-3 month onesies, and worrying if they’ll even be able to wear all of them before they grow out of them. I hate to break it to you, but they will wear all of those in the first 48 hours they come home. I had no idea just how much laundry two babies can create. Also, lots of twins come early, so they may be in those newborn clothes a lot longer than you’re expecting. I bought a TON of simple, inexpensive onesies for the brothers to wear at home, and saved their “fancy” outfits for when I knew we’d be leaving the house. (Side note: I wish my fancy outfits included sweatpants and elastic waists. Babies have all the luck.)

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What were some of your twin must haves?